Love: Definition
by Sir-Shun
Summary: A “chance” meeting between old friends leads Koushiro, Sora and their friends to learn new things, rediscover others and change their view on life itself. Pairings are for you to find out. This is on Hiatus for now, Sorry. I'm focusing on a Naruto fic.
1. Coincidence

**Love: Definition**

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_Summary: A __"chance" meeting between old friends begins a chained set of events that leads Koushiro, Sora and their friends to learn new things, rediscover others and change their view on life itself. What does the future hold for the red-heads? KoushiroxOC, YamatoxSora, HikarixTakeru… though the fic might not end with those…_

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Shotgun on all the OCs though.

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**1. ****Coincidence**

Koushiro: The occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection

Sora: Another word for fate used by people who don't believe in fate.

????: It's life's way of trying to be funny.

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Koushiro got up to face yet another day of school and felt a bit nostalgic. As he got out of bed and instinctively looked outside the window, like he did everyday, he sincerely wondered how all the digidestined were doing. The thought surprised him; it had been months since he had heard about any of them, let alone thought about them. He somewhat missed them, though he could see them everyday if he wanted. Their last get-together was last year's digi-picnic and since then he had barely talked to them.

The feeling didn't last long though; this wasn't the train of thoughts that would get him out of bed and on the way to school. He took a shower, got dressed in the Odaiba High school uniform he had been accustomed to wear for half a year now, and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. There, he saw his food waiting for him, and his mom still over the oven, apparently cooking for her husband and herself. Koushiro groaned.

"Mom, I already told you that I could make breakfast for myself."

"Oh, good morning dear, sleep well?"

Koushiro sighed. Her mom masterfully changed subject, while making sure to nudge him about politeness, all in one sentence. Having grown up with her he called this special talent "the mother's gift". She used it quite often.

"Good morning mom. Yes, I had a good night sleep. Why are you awake this early?"

"Why, to make you breakfast of course."

"But mom, it's about six in the morning! Dad won't be awake for the next hour and 26 minutes. I could have made breakfast myself."

"Are… Are you saying that you don't like my cooking? " She looked like she was about to cry. Koushiro always hated she used that ploy. It never failed.

"No! Of course not! But you don't have to wake up early just for me. I'm 16 now; I can take care of myself perfectly fine."

"What are you talking about? You'll always be my little Kou-kou, she said giving him a kiss on the forehead."

The red head quietly sat down and started to eat his food, almost sulking. He blushed furiously while thinking he'd die if one of his friends ever heard about "Kou-kou". It's not like he expected things to change; they had been the same since Koushiro attended middle school. In the end it didn't matter that much because he had a wonderful meal, instead of the cereal and toasts he would have probably made in a hurry. After the meal, he kissed his mother goodbye and started to head down the stairs leading to the exit of his apartment block.

Now, if there was one that Izumi Koushiro was ever sure of, it would be this: there's no such thing as fate. Of course, it's easy to find his statement ridiculous when knowing about his adventures in the digital world, especially since he was handpicked along seven others to become digi_destined_. But after the years at looking at it in a different objective, Koushiro's opinion on the matter only became stronger. The only reason he had been chosen along with Tai, Hikari, Jyou, Mimi, Yamato, Takeru and Sora was because he was at the right place at the right time; coincidence. Also, their partners and crests had been chosen according to their dominating characteristic; though Yamato also though that this had to do with what the others saw the most in a specific person. It wasn't because of fate that they had beaten Devimon, it was because of sheer necessity and will of survival. And that prophecy about VenomMyotismon… well, he had no explanation for it yet; it definitely had to do with Genai's tricky way of giving them information.

Knowing what he thought about the digital world and fate in general one would think he didn't enjoy his time there; he'd be correct. Going through months of either looking for someone or something and/or running away from something else wasn't his idea of pleasant memories. He was only grateful for one thing: Tentomon. It's true in those times he had learned to know the seven other digidestineds better, but he only considered Jyou and Tentomon as his real friends. Since one was attending medical school and the other was currently in the digital world however, they didn't have the constant contact the young genius would have wanted.

As for the others: Mimi… was nice, when she didn't drag him into one of her endless shopping trip – which she did 95% of the time. Besides, she had moved to America four years ago; Tai had been close to him for a while but eventually they became distant; Hikari still called him "Koushi-nii", and treated him like a second brother, but that was when she saw him, which happened once every other week. He would keep tabs on the rest of them, but the relation was cordial at best. Of course he was at Yamato's concert, and yes he still chaperoned the new generation of digidestineds on their trips, but he barely talked in those occasions, as he felt like an intruder: completely out of place. That isn't to say that he felt lonely in any way: Koushiro had always been somewhat of a loner, even a little bit antisocial at times. Besides, he had made good friends outside of the digidestined circle. It's just that… he felt a little confused at the current situation.

That being said, as he past one of the apartment doors, thinking about the past, he heard a familiar voice on the other side.

- Goodbye mom!

_Sora?_ It was definitely her voice. He wondered what she was doing there until it hit him: she lived there. In fact, she had always lived under Koushiro's apartment: This was the building from which they had both observed their first digimon fight. The genius had totally forgotten that fact. Not that it changed anything though; of the now 11 digidestineds, Sora was the one he felt the least close to. Still it sure was weird to hear her voice after thinking about renewing lost connections and whatnot. The red head shrugged: _coincidence_. He took a look at his watch, decided it was better for him to hurry, and made his way for school, while trying to forget this small incident.

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If Koushiro was someone that believed in coincidences, Sora was his polar opposite. Nothing in her mind happened without a reason: she had understood that when she had received the crest of love. The problem she had in her world had been resolved by the trip she had in the digital world, as with most of the digidestineds. And it couldn't be a simple coincidence that they all had a connection with each other one way or another. In fact, she was grateful for that adventure; she strengthened the bonds she already had, while making knew friends. The digital world taught her to see the grand scheme of things in every little incident.

But as time went by, she lost a little of the closeness she had with the chosen group. Of course she was close to Taichi, Hikari, Yamato and Takeru – though she still didn't admit her crush for Yamato – and had kept a strong relationship with Mimi through a healthy dose of e-mails every day, but she couldn't say the same for Koushiro and Jyou. The fact that the former lived in the same apartment building as her didn't help the matter at all. In fact, they were really distant though physically close. Even Yolei, the next generation child of love, was closer to her than them. She definitely had to do something about it.

Those were the thoughts of Sora Takenouchi, as she got dressed for her early tennis practice session. Since she had missed the last one, she wanted to make up for it. She didn't realise it was this early though which was kind of new for her. She got out of her room and made breakfast. She had almost finished eating it when her mother came out of the shower.

- Sora? Why are you up this early?

- Morning Mom! Got tennis practice early today.

- Does that mean you'll be helping at the shop later this evening?

- Sure thing, mom.

She finished her last piece of toast, got up and hugged her mom. They had become closer since her last adventures, and Sora even helped her with her flower store. She picked her stuff and said goodbye to her mom. When she opened the door, she saw a kid with the same uniform as her, and donned of red, almost brown hair. _Koushiro?_ She tried to call him, but her mom held her back. She had forgotten to prepare her lunch. She really felt stupid, especially considering she had just missed a chance meeting with an old friend. She thought by hurrying she might have a chance to catch up with him. She quickly put some leftovers into her bento box and dashed out of the house, surprising her mother. However, she wasn't able to meet up with him even when hurrying all the way to school.

She decided to look for him later and set out for her tennis practice, where she bumped into Taichi. Since the Soccer and Tennis field were side by side, they went there together. While going there, they talked about sports in general until the child of courage went on about school.

- Man, that math test was hard!

- Yeah, it was, said Sora as she sighed. But you did pretty well.

- Didn't I? I owe it all to Koushiro though.

- Koushiro?

- Yeah he's my math tutor

Strange, she was just thinking about him this morning, and almost ran into him to. Now even Taichi was mentioning him, never mind the simple fact that Koushiro, a freshman, was tutoring a second year. She concluded it wasn't mere coincidence. She'd have to jump on the next occasion of meeting him.

- So how is he?

- Huh, you don't know? I thought I'd ask you since you live in the same building.

- No, she said, slightly blushing. I haven't talked to him for some time.

- Is that so? Well I see him from time to time. Wish it could be more though.

Though she didn't reply, she agreed. They headed their own way on that note. She tried to focus on her tennis practice, but the coach could clearly see she was lacking concentration. The session ended earlier than planned for her: she was told to comeback when she was really ready to play. The young girl left somewhat upset as this wasn't the first time this happened. Blushing, she couldn't help but think it had to do with a certain handsome blonde she had seen strolling by the court…

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After his math tutoring session, Koushiro headed for his locker to prepare for the day. He had made sure that, as usual, his little meeting left him enough time to check on his agenda, while having some spare time to do some research in the computer room. It didn't go as scheduled though; as he was going to his favourite room of the whole school, he bumped into a familiar figure.

- Hey! Well what do you know, it's Koushiro

- Good morning, Taichi-san.

He thought that his mind was playing tricks on him, but for a second the computer whiz could swear he had seen the smile of his old friend cringe when he greeted him. It wasn't the first time either; for a while now he would see the same behaviour every time Koushiro would greet him, or call his name. It saddened the red head because it was further proof that they had gone distant, but he kept hope that someday they would go back to being the friends that they were before.

- Where are you going?

- To the computer room. You're up early this morning. To what do we owe this honour?

- Just got out of soccer practice.

Koushiro didn't know they had additional morning practice on top of all the training sessions they participated in after school. Taichi continued:

- It's weird.

- What is?

- Me and Sora were just talking about not seeing you enough.

- Beg your pardon?

- Yeah, I met Sora just then and we were talking about you.

This simply did not compute for the young genius. Sora, the girl that practically lived with yet never talked to, was talking about him? Not to mention now that it was the second time he'd been brought to think about her, directly or indirectly. Well, since she was a close friend of Taichi's, it was normal that he would mention her in a conversation, but he never did so in one of their conversation as long as he remembered. He maybe had, but Koushiro couldn't remember it.

- Is that so? And what were you saying about me?

- That we didn't see you enough. You know, like when we used to play soccer together.

- Ah well, that can't be helped. We're in separate grades, aren't we? Besides, we have those tutoring sessions for Math every… Thursday, I think?

Somehow, that answer didn't convince the digidestined leader. An awkward silence ensued, that became unbearable sooner that either of them expected. It's not that Koushiro wasn't accustomed to those moments; it was that it this kind of situation never happened with Taichi, and the first year student wished it could have stayed that way. He rapidly excused himself and left his friend, but when he looked at the time, he noticed that he wouldn't have the time to work on the computer properly. He sighed and headed directly to his classroom.

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The day quickly went by. The classes ended and Koushiro left school. It was another normal day at his school; nothing out of the ordinary. Even the geography pop quiz didn't surprise him that much. As the red head marched along the sidewalk, he gave into his daily routine of reviewing the day's courses and preparing for the next one. Koushiro himself often wondered why or when he decided to do this while walking home, but it suited him. But since things had been relatively easy, his mind wondered into something else; namely the fact that Sora came to mind twice today and at rather peculiar moments too. Both times he was thinking about her. That brought him to think about another incident that happened during lunch. It seemed he had heard someone calling him, but it was so faint and sudden he had thought it was his mind playing tricks on him.

- Koushiro!

_Yup, just like that. Wait… What!?_

- Wait up Koushiro!

The young boy thought for a second that he was hearing things, but since he clearly heard his name twice, and from a familiar voice too, he decided to stop and turn around. A girl taller that he was came to a screeching halt, almost bumping into him. If the athletic figure or the similar uniform didn't give her identity away, her red hair did.

- Eh, Takenouchi-san? What are you doing here?

- Nothing, she said catching her breath. 'Just going back home.

- Is that so?

- Yeah, what a coincidence meeting you here huh?

Koushiro approved and laughed nervously, then looked away. Whatever it was, it couldn't be coincidence, this he was sure of. Sora never took this path to get to the apartment building before. Heading there from the west side of school is usually the faster way. Koushiro usually walked part way home with a friend here, so he took this road every day. She definitely wanted something from him. That made even more sense if the voice he heard at lunch belonged to her. He wondered what could have brought the girl here.

- Koushiro?

- Yes, Takenouchi-san?

- Mind if we walk home together?

- Of course not.

It was sure weird though, he didn't understand why she would go out of her way just to walk home with him. Whatever the reason, he was glad she did; it really had been a while since he last saw her.

- So… how are you doing?

- I'm fine, what about you?

- Great! How's school?

- Same old. How's tennis practice coming?

- I'd rather not talk about it

The chat went on for a little while, and silence quickly followed. Koushiro quickly forgot that he was walking home with someone and lost himself in his thoughts. He remembered his math test was coming soon, along with his foreign language project. He had obviously taken English since He had some of the basics from talking with Mimi. And then there was the tutorial lesson he had to prepare for next week, not to mention he had that homework to bring in tomorrow. But he'd eventually take care of those in due time. He then started to come up with things to do for his free afternoon tomorrow.

As for Sora, she took that time to study the friend she hadn't seen in a while. Koushiro had grown. He was now almost at average height. She still was taller than him though, and felt somewhat proud of the fact. He also looked more mature, and strangely less preoccupied than before. As they were walking home, Koushiro did not once look at the ground as he used to: instead he always seemed to look around to observe. He really had changed since she last saw him.

- Hey, Koushiro?

- Huh!?

Koushiro remembered he wasn't alone today, which totally threw him off.

- Ah, Takenouchi-san! I totally forgot that you were there! Sorry.

- It's Alright Koushiro. She giggled.

- I really am sorry. Walking silently like that must've felt awkward.

- I didn't actually. Usually, I'd feel awkward with someone else, but since it's you it kind of felt normal.

- Really?

- Yeah.

The young boy her gave the strangest of looks muttered his renowned "This doesn't compute." Sora didn't expect his reaction at all. She wondered what it was that was so weird about what she had just said.

- What doesn't compute?

- …Ah! You… heard that? Nothing really. So, what did you want to ask me?

- Come one Koushiro, now you're making me curious.

- Well, a friend of mine told me about a theory he heard, and I thought his theory was sound but you proved it wrong just now.

- Really?

- Yeah… anyway, here's you're apartment.

- I'll see you around then.

- Yeah, have a nice evening Takenouchi-san.

On that note, Koushiro left Sora at the door. She was glad: her first contact with her old friend felt more natural that she could have hoped for. She changed into suitable clothes to help her mom while thinking about him: If things continued that way she had nothing to worry about. The more they would see each other the more their connection would grow. Sora then left her appartment, already anticipating what topics to discuss with Koushiro next time she saw him.

On the other hand Koushiro was surprised by Sora's behaviour: she didn't really want anything from him. It didn't matter though; it had been a good day, though it could have been better. The odd thing was, as he looked back at the fortunate reunion that took place moments ago, not once did have any kind of positive thoughts whatsoever. Instead, his friend's theory came to his mind and he praised himself for not telling her of his friend's musing in detail. Telling Sora that he found that incident weird because usually people as distant as them would behave otherwise wasn't such a good idea after such a happy event. Besides it would imply things that he wasn't ready to tell her yet. But he quickly shook off those thoughts; it was time for him to tend to his homework. Now if only he could come up with a way for his computer to do his homework for him…

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**A/N****: Well, I didn't see enough Koushiro fics for my taste so I tried to do one myself. Hope you enjoy.**


	2. Friend

**Love: Definition**

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Shotgun on all the OCs though.

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**2. ****Friend**

Koushiro: relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, and affection along with a degree of rendering service to someone in times of need or crisis

Sora: Someone I enjoy being with.

????: Someone I made a certain kind of deal with.

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The next morning Koushiro woke up in a bit of a daze. The homework had taken longer than it should, leaving the unfortunate kid sleep deprived. Still, he had to attend school, or else the time he spent not getting the rest he deserved would have gone to waste. His agenda told him that he didn't have tutoring sessions today, but even so, the young red head got out of his bed and headed for his desktop. After spending half an hour on his latest computer related interest – first thing he ever did daily – the boy decided it would be nice for him to go on a stroll with his bike before going to school.

After the usual morning tasks, he quickly got out of the building. He hadn't crossed the first street that he spotted a girl leaning against a nearby fence. Upon closer inspection, he recognized his friend and neighbor from the floor below. He thought it was a strange coincidence: It was a while since he had last seen her. He started to wonder if she was waiting for someone until he suddenly remembered what he had been doing yesterday, mainly "accidentally" meeting her. He had a feeling she was waiting for someone, but couldn't really put his finger on who since none of the other digi-destined lived by; she could very well have been waiting for her other friends. In any cases he decided to take a detour not to disturb her but as he was beginning to turn she saw him and waved.

Since Sora had so kindly noticed and greeted him, Koushiro felt he had no choice but to stop his bike in front of his friend to exchange greetings and a few words like the courteous young man he was before taking off once again, and while he was at it, ask about the person she was waiting for. He was shocked by the answer:

"Actually, I was waiting for you, Koushiro"

"For me!? And why would you do that?"

"For us to go to school together; isn't that obvious?"

_It isn't when it never happened before yesterday__… _

But Koushiro had gotten wiser with the years and decided to not voice his concerns. Still, along the way, the red tried to figure out the reason why Sora would even think about going to school with him and had found only one; she needed a favor. This didn't bother the young genius one bit, seeing he loved lending a helping hand when he could, but the fact that Sora was simply walking quietly beside him, looking at him from time to time made him nervous. Finally, he cracked:

"Hum, Takenouchi-san…"

"Yes, Koushiro-san?"

"Is everything allright?"

"What? Yeah, I guess."

"Cause if you have any kind of trouble I'd be happy to help."

Sora gave Koushiro a strange look before replying: "And why would I need your help?"

"Huh? Isn't the reason you waited for me this morning?" said a confused red head.

"Of course not! I'm walking with you today because friends usually walk together to school if they're near each other and since we live in the same building I thought…"

But Sora stopped mid-sentence when she saw the look Koushiro gave her; he had the same puzzled expression as the one he made yesterday. She didn't understand why her friend would act this way when she tried to get close and renew their friendship but it was starting to annoy her.

"What, Koushiro? Is there something wrong with what I said?"

"Huh? Nope, not all…"

"…But?"

"Well… I still don't understand why we're walking together to go to school and I…"

Sora took a good look at the red head, surely this wasn't Koushiro she was talking to; no way the red head could be so dense. Yet Koushiro was a computer nerd and it didn't seem to her that he had many friends. She decided to spell it clearly for him.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm doing this because we're friends."

Next thing she knew, Koushiro's face changed once again. This time again Sora recognized his expression immediately; it was the look he usually gave Mimi when she complained in the digital world: Usually her topics for complaint were borderline retarded, and him and all the other chosen children would have that expression plastered on their faces without fail. She didn't know why, but for some reason it infuriated her to know end that he would look at her like that when he was obviously the one to act like such an idiot. She demanded an answer for is behavior but they already reached the school. One of her friends greeted her and by the time she had responded the boy had already left.

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The star tennis player spent the rest of the day in a foul mood. Her friends tried to cheer her up at first, but knowing her temper simply decided to stay away until the storm had past. This was strange considering the events of the day: Her grades for the last History class was better than she had hoped for and she just learned that she had been chosen to represent the Odaiba district at the national tennis tournament, but even that didn't phase her. Not even Yamato… well actually seeing Yamato made her completely forget a guy named Koushiro even existed, but as soon as the handsome blond was out of sight, the red haired girl thoughts turned back to the things that happened with the computer whiz.

Determined to resolve the matter before the end of the day, she wanted to meet him after school, but her classes ended later than usual. She had to run from class to the locker and from the locker to the exit, and yet Koushiro had already left the place, his bicycle nowhere to be found. The red haired girl didn't think she could catch up to the boy but she ran nonetheless, having the feeling she would catch up to him, like she did yesterday. Indeed, not even five minutes later, she caught sight the kid walking with someone, his bike besides him. She decided to get close without them knowing, expecting her friend to run away if he knew she was coming.

Sora's was right; Koushiro was enjoying the walk with his friend, until the expression of his friend changed and he started to scratch the top of his head. The red head instinctively knew something was up.

"What's wrong, he asked?"

"There's a red haired girl closing in fast."

At this, Koushiro's every muscle tensed. "Ah! Sora! "

"I thought as much: you know her. One of your friends you were talking me about?"

"huh… Yeah…"

He shuddered as his friend simply shrugged. He deemed he wasn't ready to face her yet. Maybe in a couple of weeks, when she'd forget it all, when he wouldn't have to talk things out with her… or maybe devised a good reason behind it. He got on his bike.

"Ah… well… I gotta go now."

"Why?"

"Uh… well…"

"So, you're just leaving? I don't think so. You're staying right here."

It wasn't a request or an order, yet it still was what Koushiro did. The expression of his friend's face hadn't changed at all but Koushiro was having a cold sweat. For a split second he dared to wonder who was the scariest between Sora and the boy right in front of him. The sheer terror he felt when he imagined the latter being mad at him was more than he could have ever asked for as an answer. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but if you ever got on that guy's bad side, God help you.

He reluctantly got off his bike, waiting for the inevitable confrontation with the girl that was coming straight for them. He stopped completely; walking away was useless now. It was curious though, when she finally reached him, the look on her face was drastically different than the one he expected her to have. Instead of being upset, annoyed or even mad, she was… sad?

"Koushiro…"

"Uh… yeah, Takenouchi-san?"

"You knew I was looking for you, right?"

"Ah… yeah."

"You knew I was running after you right now; that's why you stopped."

Koushiro would have given anything to be able to slyly lie himself out of this predicament. Alas, due to his childhood, he hated lies. He hated them so much, in fact, that he became incredibly awful at lying as a result. So instead of telling an obvious lie and ending being totally humiliated, Koushiro would simply stick to the truth. Unfortunatly, nothing good would come out of the truth in the present situation.

"You were preparing to run away on your bicycle, weren't you?"

"…Yeah," said the young boy after gulping. Since when was Sora so sharp?

Silence

"Am I… that annoying to you?"

"Eh!? What are you talking about?" The question had taken Koushiro by surprise

"If you don't like me, just say so Koushiro."

"Of course I do! You're a very nice person. Why wouldn't I like you? You're just imagining things."

Sora sighed of relief, she then smiled at him.

"So why were you running away from me then?"

"Because I know why you're looking for me and I really want to go through this..."

Her smile changed slightly, which made Koushiro shudder. Fear started to creep through as he thought about the potential storm hidden between her seemingly innocent face.

"So… What are we going to go through?"

"Takenouchi-san, I… right now I really don't think that…"

"You don't want to answer?" The smile didn't fade, yet the red haired boy could feel the pressure increasing.

"Do I need to answer in front of him?"

"Why not?"

"Don't bother," said the third wheel. "I'll be going now. See ya."

"Hah… Thanks a lot, he muttered. He then sighed and turned around to face Sora. "Heh, I guess it had to happen sometime."

His expression changed completely, he didn't seem nervous at all. The Shyness was replaced by an as-a-matter-of-factly confidence. He took a deep breath:

"Takenouchi Sora, we aren't friends."

And just like that he went his way. For a second, Sora couldn't move. She had trouble understanding what Koushiro meant; surely there was a mistake. The utter bewilderment was soon replaced by anger. She quickly caught up with him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Takenouchi-san!?" It was Koushiro's turn to be surprised.

"What's that suppose to mean!? First you say you like me, now you say we aren't friends; are you trying to tick me off? Because so far I'd have to say you're doing that pretty well!"

"I don't think I said anything wrong," said the small red head, delicately loosening Sora's grip. "Those two statements weren't offensive or anything and they reflect exactly what I think about the situation."

"But I don't understand Koushiro: I don't remember doing anything wrong to you. Well, it's true that we aren't as close as were before, but…"

But Koushiro simply shook his head: "See, this is where you misunderstood: I'm not saying I don't want to be your friend anymore; I'm saying we were never friends _to begin with._"

That statement was so absurd the girl couldn't help herself but laugh. "What are you talking about Koushiro? Of course we're friends. All the months spent in the digital world are proof of that."

"… Right," was his sacarstic reply. "You think I'll believe that when all we ever did in the digital world was fight or run for our lives? You know very well the only friends we really made then were our digital partners."

"You're wrong. Maybe I already had friends before we went in the digital world, but some of them I met there, including you."

"Yeah, key word being _met_. You became friends with them by spending time together: talking on the phone, going out together, whatever… Don't tell me you had the time to do that back then."

Sora had nothing to answer to that. Koushiro relentlessly continued: "So, all that's left is what happened outside the digital world: care to tell me when the last time we talked was?"

"That's easy: it was yesterday."

"… And before that?" he continued, a little annoyed by the obvious answer. He answered for her after he waited enough to figure out she didn't know: "It was at this year's digi-picnic. Before that it was last year's. Of course we see each other sometimes at school or at one of the other chosen's get-together but then we don't to do much more than greet each other. See where this is going?"

Sora clearly didn't want to admit it but clearly the computer whiz was right. If anything they could considered acquaintances at best, but this she couldn't accept. She didn't want to believe this was all there was between them. She didn't have any reason to obstinately think so, except an obscure memory of them in the digital world: She didn't remember most of it, only that Koushiro had helped a lot back then, that and the sad face he had, but she didn't know how or why. All she knew was that it was important to her.

"So", she finally said, "That's all there is between us?"

"I'd say yes. But like I said before: I like you, Takenouchi-san." The smile he had when he said those words was just like the expression he had in Sora's memory. "It's not like I wanted things this way either, but I thought you didn't care; now I know you do. Since we both think the same way about the situation, let's do something about it, shall we?" Koushiro hesitantly raised his hands: "Takenouchi Sora, Would you care to become my friend?"

Sora didn't know why, but tears started to appear under her eyes. She first hugged Koushiro, and then extended her own hand, happily giving him her answer. The young boy almost choked, but gladly shook her hand to confirm the start of their friendship. On that note they quickly went home. Each one of them was as curious as impatient to know what the future had in store for them. Neither of them knew, but they figured it was off a pretty good start.

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**A/N: Fair warning: you might have to wait a while for the actual romance to begin; same thing for the fighting. Oh, and next update, the "????" at the beginning of the chapter is revealed.**


	3. Shun

**Love: Definition**

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Shotgun on all the OCs though.

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**3. ****Shun**

Koushiro: He's my best friend.

Sora: I have absolutely no idea how to describe him in a sentence. He is one of the best and the worst guy I ever met in my life.

Shun: That's me.

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The next day Koushiro met Sora at the exact same spot where she had waited for him yesterday. He still couldn't believe that this beautiful red head was waiting for him, but he made sure that from now on he would thank the heavens every day for this opportunity.

The young boy had to admit he was a little apprehensive when he stepped out of his apartment bloc this morning. As he had gone home yesterday, he noticed that they never agreed on anything else except being friends: If their friendship was anything like their previous relationship – or lack thereof, it would have been all for nothing. Nevertheless, Sora was there, leaning against the same fence as yesterday, waiting for him. Things had definitely changed for the better.

They greeted each other and walked on: once again, he couldn't help but feel overjoyed at how natural it all seemed. They chatted about small things that happened during the week when suddenly koushiro was reminded of a rather pressing matter:

"Say, Takenouchi-san…"

"Yeah?"

"Are we going to walk to school everyday like this?"

"Why, does it bother you?" she asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

"No, not at all." He handed her sheet. "I just thought you might need this if that was the case."

Sora looked at what she had just received: it was her friend's schedule. He explained that he didn't want Sora to wait too long for him so he decided to make this for her. Sora felt touched by is thoughtfulness. They settled on times they should meet after school.

"So, what else do we need to do?"

"Well, I'll have to properly introduce you to all of my friends. See there's Akane and…"

"Hum, Takenouchi-san? Maybe it isn't such a good idea," said the boy now as red as his hair. "You know I'm more of the quiet type."

"Shy, are we? Fine then, I won't do that. But I have a condition."

"Eh!? A condition?"

"I won't do it, but you have to stop calling me Takenouchi-san," said Sora as she gave him a half-threatening, half-joking glare. "You make it sound like I'm some old lady."

"Really? But what the matter with calling you…" But he stopped when he saw that her leer hadn't subsided. "So then, what is it you want me to call you?"

"Sora-Chan, of course!" she beamed. "And you'll be Shiro-kun… or maybe Kou-chan."

"Eh, don't I get to choose how you call me?"

Sora was in a good mood. She enjoyed teasing her new friend. They kept walking and Sora wondered more and more how come they had never been close. Koushiro wasn't the cutest guy around not to mention he was a computer nerd, but he was still a good kid. It seemed those walks with him would be something to look forward to.

However, something wasn't right: for a while now a boy taller than both of them was walking behind them. It didn't look like he was spying on them or anything, but when she slowed or hastened the pace, he changed accordingly, getting so ever closer. Finally, she walked a little faster than before to stop abruptly the next second. The results were unexpected: The boy behind her and Koushiro tried to stop as well, but lost his footing. It looked for a second he was trying to hold on to either her or her friend, but in the end, he clumsily fell face first on the concrete sidewalk, surprising both red heads. "Ouch", said the boy, but it sounded like he didn't get hurt at all. Koushiro recognised the person in front of them immediately.

"Hasegawa-kun, is that you?"

"Yo, Izumi," said the boy as he raised his right hand in greeting, his face still flat against the concrete.

"Koushiro-kun, you know this stalker?" Sora looked at the newcomer dubiously.

"Oi! I don't remember calling you a stalker when _you_ were following us yesterday."

Sora was surprised when she heard that. She remembered that Koushiro was accompanied by a boy yesterday, but didn't have the time to look at him properly since she had more pressing matters at hand. The boy got up and dusted himself.

"You're the guy who was walking with Koushiro yesterday…"

"So glad you could remember. The name's Hasegawa Shun. Just call me Hasegawa."

"Erm, Nice to meet you." Sora was a little shaken; the newcomer felt imposing. "Well I'm…"

"Takenouchi Sora", he replied, "second year tall and athletic red head, and Odaiba High's Tennis superstar. Izumi told me about you."

"Ah, that's odd." She turned her attention to Koushiro. "You never told me about him."

Koushiro did not give her an answer, only a blank stare. Sora quickly understood the reason; how could he tell her about him? During the all those years they barely acknowledged one another's existence. She decided to look at his friend a little more, trying to hide her embarrassment from the young genius.

He was donned of the Odaiba High green uniform, which meant that he was at their school, probably in Koushiro's classroom as well. He didn't seem to care too much for aesthetics though; his uniform was wrinkled, his tie loosened and his short raven hair was a total mess. His face was a little on the plain side, but that might have been because of his omnipresent scowl. He had black coloured, mean looking eyes. In other words, he looked like a delinquent; funny thing when paired with a small nerd looking person like Koushiro.

By the time she thought about paying attention to her friend again, he was in deep conversation with the newcomer. She felt a bit left out, but somehow didn't dare interrupt. The two of them talking together was completely different from when she talked to Koushiro a while ago. She couldn't put a finger on the why, though. She then noticed his smile; it was different from the shy smile he had with her. It reminded the tennis star of the digital world.

Koushiro only noticed that he had ignored his new friend when the school was in sight. He tried to include her in the discussion even if the damage was already done: It failed miserably. He walked the rest of way to Odaiba High, accompanied by a Sora's who looked like she was about to kill him. He didn't want what happened yesterday to go to waste, so he told Shun he'd meet him back in class and tried to apologize to her.

"I'm really sorry," he said. "Forgetting you like that. It's just that for the longest time it was only him and me walking to school together…"

"So, are you going to forget about me every time he comes by?" Her tone was sarcastic.

"Of course not! It won't ever happen again. So please forgive me."

"…"

"…Are you still mad, Take… Sora-chan?"

"It's alright Koushiro-kun, I'm not mad at you anymore."

"You sure? You still look angry to me."

She didn't answer, preferring to leave things as they were, and went to her classroom. Koushiro looked a bit worried when she left, which appeased her mood; she wanted him to understand that he wouldn't be getting away with anything. He was the one who talked so highly about friendship after all.

Yet she wasn't really mad at him. While it was true that she had being shunned – for the first time in her life and by Koushiro, of all the people – the incident only annoyed her. The problem was rather how Koushiro talked to this Shun person rather than the fact that she was ignored. This was what angered the red head somewhat. She felt the Koushiro she was talking with earlier was just a façade and that the Koushiro she had observed then was the real one. Sure, it was to be expected; they were only friends since yesterday after all. Didn't mean it was pleasant in the least.

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Sora found Koushiro and his friend waiting for her at the school gates. Shun looked bored out of his mind. The young genius tried to cheer him up; an impossible task at the look of things. She greeted them and quickly they walked on. Again, it seemed the newcomer had all of Koushiro's attention. She couldn't say that this time she felt left out though; time and time again the little red head asked for Takenouchi's opinion on the various topics they were discussing. Unfortunately, things weren't going so well. Even if she was talking with them, it felt like she was intruding.

In the young woman's mind, things would have been better if Shun hadn't suddenly appeared out of nowhere; she started to understand a little why Koushiro didn't want to meet her friends. At first, she contemplated the idea of leaving things as they were. They were now friends: her goal was accomplished. Seeing each other everyday like this was enough. It's not like she would have to worry about him having a real friend after seeing Hasegawa Shun.

However, the mere existence of Shun was also why Sora deemed appropriate to take things further. What kind of person was he? His attire and attitude screamed "delinquent", however that couldn't be all there was to it. She was sure Koushiro wasn't the type of guy who associated himself with these kind of people. He didn't look trustworthy either.

Soon Shun excused himself and went on his way. Sora welcomed the leave of Koushiro's friend. She felt like she could be more at ease with her friend now. Suddenly, a small thought erupted in her mind. It took one minute for that thought to turn into an idea and for that idea to become a decision. She left Koushiro under the pretext the she forgot to do something at school, yet she took a turn on the street where Hasegawa Shun had left them. It didn't take long to find him; he had a relatively slow pace.

"Hey, wait up!" she yelled, but Shun continued nonetheless. When she shouted a second time, he stopped. She halted herself in order to catch her breath, which resulted in a moment of silence. During that time he didn't talk nor move. He simply looked at her until she decided to talk.

"Hum hey, uh…"

"… it's Hasegawa."

"…Right, Hasegawa-kun."

"_Hasegawa_. I ain't your friend. Don't call me "Hasegawa-san" either; just Hasegawa."

She started to see why she didn't like him. Resisting the urge to tell him a piece of her mind on what she would call him, she focused instead on why she had come here: she wanted to learn more about him. Sora wanted to know what kind of guy he was: their short exchange gave her a clear answer. She would have to talk to Koushiro about his frequentations, but that would have to wait for another time. That Hasegawa Shun was now in front her, looking only at her.

She had an idea of what she wanted to ask him as she ran after him, but it had vanished. Finally, the silence being unbearable for her, words came out of her mouth. It wasn't at all the words she had thought up in the first place though.

"Hasegawa, to tell you the truth, I don't like you, and it seems you don't like me either, but I have a favour to ask you." He didn't answer, nor did gaze change. She decided to see what her lips had come up with: "Could you… not go to school with Koushiro tomorrow?" Hasegawa took his time to answer: "You're right: I don't like you."

With that said, he walked away. Sora wasn't ready to give up though: she ran passed him and stop so she could be in his way. "Please," she asked with her most pleading expression. Hasegawa looked at her again. Finally, he raised his open hand. Sora was at loss about what the gesture meant. His explained himself:

"500 yen."

"…what?"

"If you do not want me to come tomorrow, pay me 500 yen."

"I can't believe this!" she nearly shouted. "Are you selling Koushiro to me!?"

"Nope. You want a favour. You don't expect me to do something like that for someone I don't like for free, do you?"

She reluctantly paid the money, thinking it was a small price to pay to get more time with her friend. The next day did not go as she planned however; by the time they were halfway to school, she had nothing to say. It wasn't that she had nothing to say though: she kept comparing the Koushiro she had seen with his friend and the Koushiro she was talking with. Surprisingly, she preferred when she was shunned by the computer whiz. Apparently, Koushiro felt the same: his mood changed ever so slightly when they went passed the spot where Shun would usually greet him. Sora concluded she could suffer that boy's presence for a little while.

Shun was back in the afternoon. Sora decided not to talk to Koushiro while he was there. She couldn't believe it herself, but after a day of being the young genius' friend she was already jealous and worried. As they went home, she silently swore she'd make Koushiro more comfortable around her and make him stop seeing that friend of his: Clearly, Hasegawa Shun would become a bad influence on Koushiro in the long run.

She was still thinking about the two boys when she got home. She had barely enough time to put down her stuff that the phone rang.

"Hello. Takenouchi residence."

"Sora? It's me"

"Tachi-kun? What's up?"

"I saw you with Koushiro this morning. I guess I should be asking you what's up." He answered. "didn't you told me before that you didn't see him that much?"

"I did. That's why I tried to walk with him to school with him everyday from now on."

"Oh… and how is that working?"

"Well, it's a start, I guess."

"I've been thinking of way to get to see him more often myself. "

"Really? And did you come up with."

"Something good, but I'll need your help: We'll have a party for Koushiro next week."

"Okay… but for what occasion?"

"Leave that to me," he said in a mischievous way. "Just help me with the party, Okay."

"Sure."

"Thanks Takenouchi! See you tomorrow!"

"Bye. See you tomorrow."

_Now what was that about__?_, she wondered. Taichi sounded excited at the end of the line. Whatever it was, it got Sora curious. Next week couldn't come soon enough,

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**A/N: Well, I won't spoil you with what Tachi's plan is, but I'll give you a clue: The name of the next chapter is "Soccer". Care to guess what it's all about? If you can't, you'll just have to wait till next update.**


	4. Soccer

**Love: Definition**

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Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Shotgun on all the OCs though.

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**4****. Soccer**

Koushiro: Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world. It's a game in which two teams of eleven players contend to get a round ball into the other team's goal primarily by kicking the ball with their feet. It's also my favorite sport.

Sora: That's Taichi's favorite sport.

Shun: Good sport. Badminton is better though.

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Koushiro took a deep breath. There was a storm yesterday, so the air was particularly fresh this morning. Both Sora and Shun looked at him and blinked: Sora smiled at him like someone who had no idea what was happening; his other friend only shrugged. The young boy didn't care that he was misunderstood; that wasn't enough to take away his good mood.

Little by little, Koushiro got used to Sora's presence when he walked to school. Things were going smoothly; as the days went by they found more things to talk about in the morning, and when Shun left in the evening, she would pick up where they had left off. Some times he thought that she was trying too hard and it showed; the day before it clearly looked like she didn't want to be there, but he was careful not to show he noticed. His heart also started to race less and less whenever he saw her, which was a good thing.

They first tried to learn more about each other, catching up to what they had been doing the past years. Sora had been surprised to find out he had been keeping tabs on her tennis career. He learned about her knew found enjoyment of Ikebana; he thought it suited her. He told her about the computer club, and how he still had work to do for Genai from time to time. All in all, they had both been busy.

Things had even calmed down between the tennis player and his best friend. The first couple of days Sora did not talk to him. That didn't prevent her from disagreeing with him all the time, simple out of the fact that it was him. He often wished that they could get along better. Of course he didn't hope for them to become friends or nothing of the sort; He felt Sora would never like the guy; and Shun, well he didn't really like anybody to tell the truth; not even Koushiro himself. He didn't expect things to change anytime soon, but going through their mutual resentment every day was taking its toll on him.

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When they arrived the school was in turmoil. It was to be expected: there was a soccer match this afternoon. It was an important one too, seeing a loss could prevent them from participating in the regional tournament coming soon. Add to this fact that it was the Odaiba High school favorite sport and it was obvious the event had everybody seemed the opposing team wasn't anything to scoff at either, so the tension rose dramatically.

As he walked through the corridors, all that Koushiro could hear were the whispers of the Odaiba Tiger fans. Some of them discussed of the recent goalie accident; others were remembering the last match, which they had won by a landslide; others were worrying about the near perfect sheet of the Sharks, the team the Tigers were against. All of the conversations had one thing in common though: Tachi Yagami. The brunette was the star of the soccer team; therefore one of the most popular guys in the school.

The young red head couldn't help but feel a little proud since he knew the star of the team. Yet he let out a sigh; he wouldn't be seeing the game. He didn't know why but he didn't feel like watching a soccer match today, which was unusual; Koushiro was a big soccer fan and never missed a game, especially his friend's. However, his friend told him something out of the ordinary would happen to him today; that was enough for him to want to change his plans. Koushiro wasn't superstitious, but when Hasegawa Shun record for bad things happening to you had a whooping hundred percent track record, you tend to listen.

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The morning was uneventful. Having no particularly pressing computer related matters that needed his attention, Koushiro offered Shun to spend lunchtime together. The delinquent refused; he always did. The red head simply shrugged and accompanied him anyway: This was the normal procedure.

"So what are your plans for this afternoon, Hasegawa-kun?"

"Plans?" replied the tall young man. "Nothing comes to mind; how about you?"

"Well, I don't know yet."

The corridors were different than in the morning: he could still hear the murmurs of the soccer enthusiasts, but he didn't hear Taichi's name in the conversations anymore. He also wasn't certain, but he could swear people were taking a glance at him when he wasn't looking. He soon shrugged it of; what could a glance or glare do to him anyway? For all he knew, the rumor section of the school newspaper was at it again.

They were close to the cafeteria when Shun suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

"Izumi, didn't you say you had no plans for the afternoon?"

"I did; why? Do you have something in mind?"

"I don't think I need to."

Koushiro wondered why his friend had said that. He was looking at a billboard; Koushiro figured the answer to his question was there. Upon closer inspection, he found out it was a list of the players that were participating in the soccer match this afternoon; nothing of interest there. However, he did hear that both the goalie and his replacement were not able to play today and was curious as to who would replace them. What he found out stupefied him.

"Huh… Hasegawa-kun?" asked a slightly troubled Koushiro

"Yes, Izumi?" His tone was neutral, as always

"Isn't the name of the Goalie replacement…?"

"Yep: Izumi Koushiro. That's what's written there."

"I thought as much." The "new" goalie's face was very close to snow white. "Hum, do you mind if I…"

"Nope, be my guest."

The next instant Koushiro was running madly towards the soccer field. As far as he was concerned, this was a big misunderstanding; he hadn't been approached by any member of the soccer team or anything of the sort. Well, it was true that they were in a heck of a pinch since they had virtually no one to replace the goalies, but replacing them by him? If they were that desperate, might as well pick one of the players of the defense to act as a goal keeper.

Taichi and the other members of the soccer were indeed discussing in the field like he guessed. The soccer star greeted the computer whiz. It seemed he wanted to tell him something but Koushiro stopped him with his hand. The young man wanted the misunderstanding to be cleared first, and before that, he wanted to be able to catch his breath.

"Tachi-san," he final said between pants.

"Koushiro, are you all right?" his voice had a bit of worry into it.

"I'm fine" he replied after taking a deep breath. "More importantly, you have to do something about that billboard near the cafeteria! I don't know why but it seems my name was printed there by mistake and because of that, people kept giving glares and…"

"Oh! So you already saw it. I guess that'll make things easier."

Koushiro's head snapped when he heard that. He took a good look at his friend; he had that mischievous grin he used when plotting pranks. This threw the genius completely off track. It meant what he saw earlier wasn't a mistake. It also meant that Taichi had planned this sometime prior.

"Tachi-san…" a short pause. Koushiro noted that his friend still winced a little at the mention of his name.

"This is a joke, right? Please tell me this is one of your retarded pranks and that I'm not on the roster."

"Hey! I'll have you know that my pranks are works of heart!" Koushiro sighed and looked towards the heavens, as if saying "can you believe this guy?" Taichi quickly came back on topic.

"Actually… Yes and no; see, it is a joke, but the joke is actually that you **are** in the team, get it?"

The red head had tried very hard not to throw a tantrum at him. He took another deep breath, this time to calm himself down. Tachi chuckled.

"But, I got to admit, the worried face you had just now was priceless."

On the other hand, maybe this was the time to throw a tantrum.

"Are you out of your friggin mind!? Do you have any idea of what you just did? And of all the times you could have done that it just had to be today! And how in the seven digital hells did you subscribe me for the soccer team!?"

"Ah well… I had your parents sing the form behind your back a couple of months ago," he answered proudly.

"And, and… and what about the uniform then?"

"Already taken care of."

"And what about the captain? Surely he's smart enough to realize…"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I am the captain."

"And the rest of your team actually agreed to this!?"

Tachi nodded. It seemed Koushiro was quite well known by the soccer team; in fact he was called their favorite fan. From time to time the young genius would come to the practice sessions to chat with the few of them that were resting. He sometimes ran a part of their laps to show support. He was probably the only one in school outside of the soccer team to know the names of all of the players. When the captain proposed the name, they all agreed.

"Come on, Shiro-sempai! We need you here!" said a familiar voice.

"Daisuke-san!" He had forgotten the new generation leader was part of Tachi's team.

"See? Even Daisuke wants you in the team. Besides, it's not like you never were a goal keeper before."

Koushiro was faced against all of the 13 members of the team. They were all looking at him with eyes full of hope. At this point it was clear to the red head he wouldn't be able to tell them "no". He resigned himself under the heavy cheers of the soccer club. He sighed; they certainly had no idea what he had agreed to expose himself to.

"I'm doomed."

"Now, now, Koushiro don't be like that. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"You're not the one who's going to be the reason why we lose today," he muttered darkly.

"Don't be too hard on your self. It's your first time after all. I'm sure my teammates will understand."

"Yeah, and I'm sure the rest of the school will understand too… _after_ they lynch me for costing them the place in the region tournament."

At this, Taichi laughed nervously. "I'm sure it'll be alright," he said. "It's not like it's your fault the two others are unable to participate in the match, right? Besides we still got time before the match. We'll train until then. I'm sure you'll be able put yourself into shape."

So they spent the rest of their lunch and the time between school and the game kicking soccer balls at Koushiro. Needless to say this messed up Koushiro's schedule considerably. While trying to catch the balls he wondered if Sora would be angry at him for not showing up this afternoon. He tried to tell her, but he got dragged to the practice field as soon as he stepped out of his classroom. The last minute training did payoff in a way; remembered some of the basics of being a goal keeper.

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They were now heading to the park where the match was being held. The place wasn't too far from the school so they walked there. On the road, Tachi gave a pep talk. Koushiro was amazed at how effective it was on the team; they felt pumped and ready for action. He had always thought his friend had the charisma of a leader in the digital world. Seeing it in action here reminded him of the old times.

"Once again, remember our strategy," finally said the captain; "We'll concentrate on defense: we absolutely can't let them near our goal keeper."

Well that certainly showed how much trust they had for their new goalie. He couldn't blame them though; he himself didn't believe this would work. During the training he had only successfully blocked a third of all the shots, and that's because they went easy on him.

They were near the park when Koushiro was grabbed by the collar and dragged out of the sidewalk into a back alley. Surprised, the young genius turned around to see his classmate.

"Hasegawa-kun! What are you doing here?"

"'Came to wish you good luck." A slight paused ensued in which Koushiro felt the gaze of his friend on him. "You look like you're going to die."

"Thanks," he said bitterly, "that's just the thing I needed to hear."

"Weren't you a goal keeper before?"

"That was years ago, Hasegawa-kun," he whined. "I'm going to be ridiculed in front of the whole school."

"Well, that doesn't sound like you," he replied bluntly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the Koushiro I know is moronically optimist. He's also thankful for any chance he gets to help out his friends; truly an idiot that guy. And certainly didn't care what people thought about him; he's not that shallow. He always gives his all in everything if even if the chances for success are almost nonexistent. All in all, he's a truly annoying guy. Actually, I wonder why I'm his friend sometimes."

He didn't know to thank or to punch his friend. One thing was for sure though; he was much more relaxed since he saw his face.

"Thanks," he finally said. "Will you be at the soccer game?"

"Me? Are you out of your mind!? You know I hate things kind of things. Why would I spend near two hours watching this stupid…"

"You _will_ come to game to cheer me on right?"

Koushiro had the look a death row convict on his face. Not to mention his hand was firmly grasping his friend's shoulder. His friend reluctantly agreed. After he made sure – ten times – of Shun's presence at the match, the computer whiz headed for the changing rooms. Once inside Taichi tried to give him some tips on today's match. He was surprised when he saw his friend's new attitude.

"Koushiro, you seem to be more into the match now."

"Yep: I remembered how much I loved soccer, I guess."

"Sorry I dragged you into this."

"Don't apologize for something you clearly don't regret."

Tachi laughed. "Well, if you're that sharp I guess I won't have to worry about you keeping the goal."

The genius was glad to see his new captain in such a mood. He had felt he was as nervous as he was and only now that he had seen more at ease did he realize it. The young red head was still apprehensive himself, but since his friend would be there he felt like he would have at least one ally in the stands, which meant a lot to him. He had prepared, and was supported both inside and outside of the field; things would be alright.

…Right?

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**A/N: Happy New Year Everyone! I posted this chapter later than I wanted… no matter. I hope you enjoy it.**


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